President Donald Trump declared on October 2nd, 2025, that the United States is engaged in a non-international armed conflict with designated terrorist organizations, directing the Department of War to conduct operations against them, according to a notice sent to Congress. The White House informed Congress of this determination, which was announced between 7:41 PM and 8:08 PM UTC. The notice refers to individuals recently killed by the U.S. military on suspicion of drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea as "unlawful combatants." Amidst these declarations, Venezuela's Defense Minister Padrino López denounced on Thursday, October 2nd, 2025, that five U.S. combat aircraft violated Venezuelan airspace. This accusation was made at approximately 7:41 PM UTC, as reported by AlertaNews24 on X. This claim follows earlier accusations on October 2nd where Venezuelan officials stated American planes approached its coastline, deeming it a provocation and a threat to their sovereignty. Previous reports from October 2nd also indicated that Venezuelan military assets, including an S-125 Pechora-2M air defense system, were observed moving westward from Maracay towards Carabobo. These movements occurred amidst heightened regional tensions and reports of the Venezuelan Comprehensive Aerospace Defense Command (CODAI) being placed on "condition one" for heightened readiness. A Congressional Research Service report from September 30th, 2025, detailed Venezuela's crisis under President Maduro, noting economic decline, poverty, and humanitarian needs, with the Trump administration intensifying its policies against Maduro's government. In a separate, cryptic social media post on X, user @Arr3ch0 stated, "The cards are thrown. The deck is 52, all identified. Any resemblance to other letters of letters is pure coincidence," posted within the reporting window. The significance of this post in relation to ongoing events remains unclear.
